The present invention relates to beverage container. More particularly this invention concerns gas-pressurized beverage keg.
A standard beer keg has a gas chamber and a beverage chamber. A tap assembly includes a gas valve that allows the gas chamber to be pressurized with a gas, normally nitrogen for wine and carbon dioxide for beer or soda, and has a pressure regulator that passes the gas at a uniform pressure to the beverage chamber where it forms a gas head. A riser tube is connected through the tap assembly to a tap valve and extends down to a lower region of the beverage chamber so that when the tap valve is open the gas head pushes the beverage up the riser tube and out a spout of the tap valve. Such containers are normally called kegs and are of cylindrical shape, with the chambers made of metal and plastic rings provided at upper and lower ends to facilitate handling and stacking. They come in various sizes, having beverage chambers of 65 l to 20 l capacity and gas chambers of 6 l to 30 l size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,140 of Thix describes such a container where the gas chamber is defined as an annular tube fitted to an upper region of the keg, or as a plurality of vertical tubes extending down in or around the keg. The gas valve sets an internal pressure of e.g. 0.8 bar for wine when using nitrogen and 2.1 bar for beer when using carbon dioxide. The construction of this keg is quite complex and in most models it is surrounded by a thick plastic jacket in which the gas chambers are imbedded. Thus the keg is bulky and, because of the plastic jacket, is hard to cool.
Another keg sold by Alumasc GB has a large capacity of 40 l. to 50 l of liquid in a stout aluminum container. It has two identical parts welded centrally together with a rounded outer shape having horizontal outwardly projecting stiffening ribs. The combination of the shape of this keg plus the fact that only the bottom half holds liquid means that it is difficult to extract heat from it and cool its contents. In addition it is relatively difficult to handle, ship, and store, as when on its side it rolls.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved beverage container.
Another object is the provision of such an improved beverage container which overcomes the above-given disadvantages, that is which is of simple construction, yet which is easy to chill, handle, and stack.
A beverage container has according to the invention a substantially cylindrical lower side wall and floor defining a lower beverage chamber and centered on an axis, a substantially cylindrical upper side wall and upper wall centered on the axis and defining an upper pressurized-gas chamber axially aligned above the lower chamber, and an annular partition having an outer edge welded to an upper edge of the lower side wall and a lower edge of the upper side wall and a center part closely juxtaposed with the upper wall of the upper chamber. The partition downwardly closes the upper chamber and upwardly closes the lower chamber. A tap assembly mounted on the upper-chamber upper wall has a riser tube projecting through the partition center part into a lower region of the lower chamber. An upper protective ring is fitted to the upper part and to the valve assembly and a lower protective ring is fitted to the lower part. The rings and side walls having generally the same diameters.
Such a container or keg can be used with different types of beverages and is inexpensive to manufacture. It can be stored, transported, and handled easily. Cooling the contained beverage is easy as a large surface of metallic wall is internally in direct contact with the beverage and externally exposed, so extracting heat from the beverage through the wall is simple and efficient. The annular gas chamber is particularly easy to construct and can hold substantial pressure. Only a single circular weld connects the three main partsxe2x80x94the upwardly open cup of the lower beverage chamber, the downwardly open cup of the gas chamber, and the downwardly cupped partitionxe2x80x94so that the keg can be assembled cheaply with minimal possibility of leakage. The cylindrical shape allows a standard cylindrical cooler or jacket to be fitted over the keg for quick cooling of its contents.
According to the invention the tap assembly includes a gas valve fixed to the upper-chamber upper wall, a tap valve projecting radially past the upper ring, and a pressure regulator connected between the gas valve and the tap valve. The upper ring has a seat in which the tap valve fits and is formed with a radially inwardly open seat in which the gas valve fits. The radially inwardly open seat is formed by a pair of radially inwardly directed and axially extending ridges. In addition the upper wall and floor are formed with pressure-blowoff burst formations. The tap head is mounted on the keg by the user of the keg, often someone only slightly familiar with how to do this. The upper-ring seat insures that the head will be mounted in the right orientation and connected up properly, as it will not fit in any other position. Thus even the clumsiest user will be sure to get the tap working properly. The head type is determined by the beverage being dispensed; the same keg can be used for instance for soda or beer pressurized with CO2 or wine pressurized at a different pressure with N2.
To facilitate stacking and storage of the keg, the lower ring is formed with four radially outwardly projecting corners imparting to it a generally square footprint. These corners insure that the kegs will all be aligned when packed together, and prevent the kegs from rolling if on their side. Furthermore carrying the keg on a hand truck, as is common, is particularly easy as in effect there are four flats on the lower protective ring. The corners have outer edges rounded to a radius equal to between 20% and 35% of a diameter of the side walls. In addition formations align the corners of the lower ring such that the tap assembly projects from the upper ring equidistant between two of the corners. The lower ring is formed with a seat dimensioned to receive an upper edge of an upper ring of another such keg.